A Literary Magazine

Issue Ten - October 2006

Last Memory

by Ande Finley

Such a small box
to hold
the tall, solid bulk of you
bones and skin
your unbeating heart
conjured into fine gray ash
we sang a little
about flying and angels
we spoke singing words
about the sea
we prayed our quiet grief
before we made it your home
again, then
it was time
for gentle hands
to cradle dust
into dark water
briny with tears
we poured you
into the eager current
a thousand thousand grains
dancing a trail to
the dreamless ocean
till finally
we could let joy
arcing through salty wind
carry our gifts
blood red carnations
purple-hearted clematis, sweet bells
blue as the mirror of water and sky
and for a long time after
we followed your journey
beneath the shining bay
beneath the tide of flowers
a stream of light, a last memory of gardens

Ande Finley is euphoric to see her life-long dream of writing full time manifesting here in her remote Lopez forest. Her English major in college morphed somehow into a professional life of crunching numbers and she guiltily filed her writing life away until all her kids had left home. Now, she mainly composes for herself, but her work has appeared in Uncapped,Satsang, and previously in SHARK REEF. With the help of her brilliantly-creative family, she produced her first chapbook, Simply Love, to commemorate her mother’s 75th birthday. She offers heartfelt thanks to her husband Scott for all the years of unwavering support.